The Golden Age Sandman Archives Vol. 1

Rating:
Summary: Suprisingly unique Golden Age stories.
Review: In the 1990s, one of the comics that routinely found its way to the top of my reading pile was "Sandman Mystery Theatre", published by DC Comics under its mature-readers "Vertigo" imprint. In this series, writer Matt Wagner (later joined by Steven T. Seagle) and artist (most of the time) Guy Davis took one of the lower tier golden age super-heroes, Wesley Dodds, the Sandman, and re-wrote his adventures, still set in the late 1930s, with a more mature, adult audience in mind (it was also an obvious attempt to spin-off Neil Gaiman's popular "Sandman" series, which did incorporate Wesley Dodds as a background element).

When the series was cancelled, I was honestly crushed. So, imagine my pleasure when I learned that DC was finally beginning to reprint the series in trade paperback form. Imagine my additional delight to learn that, as part of a tie in, DC was releasing an archive edition of the Sandman's golden age stories.

I am happy to say that the material found in "The Golden Age Sandman Archives" is much better than your average golden age fare. Now, there's no denying the importance of the Golden Age. But, it was not a time of huge sophistication in the medium. Stories were short, simple, and plot driven. The characters, including the lead, were usually mostly stock characters, with certain quirks to distinguish them from other characters. The Sandman did have certain stock traits, but there were some fairly critical distinctions from other Golden Age mystery men.

In brief, for reasons not made clear, Wesley Dodds, rich playboy (like some many others) decides to combat crime. While he has no superpowers, he is in great physical condition with a keen intellect. Thus, he dons a gas-mask and makes use of a gun that fires sleeping gas (hence his name), and leaves sand at the scene of his captures.

But that's where the "standard" qualities end. "The Sandman" was actually quite unique for a few reasons. First, Dodds outside his costume was no slouch. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Wes Dodds didn't put up a facade of the spoiled rich boy who flinches at the first sign of danger. Indeed, in one story, Dodds, conveniently carrying a gun when a restaurant is robbed, takes a few shots at the crooks.

Second, more mundanely, the Sandman's costume was his gas-mask, his cape, his fedora, and . . . a green business suit. Yep, it wasn't until Joe Simon (co-creator of "Captain America", among others) and Jack Kirby (also co-creator of Cap, as well as about half the Marvel Universe) came onboard that the Sandman took a more traditional super-hero flavor.

Finally, "The Sandman" series was unique for its female lead, Dian Belmont, Wes Dodds girlfriend, daughter of the DA, and the Sandman's able sidekick. Unlike so many other female leads, Dian was not simply killing time with the hero's civilian identity until he could put on his mask and save her. Dian was a vital part of the Sandman's life and career. While Wes did have to save Dian on occasion, Dian also saved Wes a few times. These differences make the series unique among most of the other golden age stories DC produced.

In terms of the quality of the stories, "The Sandman" can be hit or miss, though with noticeably more hits. Given his obviously pulp-inspired nature, the Sandman spent most of his time duking it out with thugs and racketeers, although his early adventures did find him in more "high adventure" style stories, a la Doc Savage, with Dodds using his flying prowess to battle air-pirates with a vendetta in "The Three Sandmen", and battling a group of hostile natives in "Island Uprising". When the prolific Gardner Fox came aboard, the stories became far more crime oriented, with Sandman and Dian battling jewel thieves and loan sharks.

It's worth noting how much Wagner and company kept from the original strips in "Mystery Theatre". Early in the volume, Wes slips out in costume, leaving a doll to sleep in his bed. While this gimmick was only used once in the golden age, it was a trademark of Wagner's series. Likewise, at least two villains, the Tarantula and the Face, did make appearances here, although it appears they were one time villains. In the 90s, the first two story arcs took their name from each respective villain. Naturally, the plots were wildly different, as Wagner made full use of his mature-readers stamp to make both characters super-brutal monsters. It's also worth noting that the dashing Dodds of past was replaced with a more pudgy, booking, but far more driven one in SMT.

This volume has quickly risen high on my list of favorite golden age archive editions. There's just so much about it that's unique and refreshing. Plus, those little references that were used in the 90s made me smile. Definitely a keeper.